Reardon Victims Reach Settlement with St. Francis, WFSB, May 9, 2011

Reardon Victims Reach Settlement with St. Francis

WFSB
May 9, 2011

http://www.wfsb.com/news/27824797/detail.html

After years of legal proceedings, St. Francis Hospital, the former employer of the late Dr. George Reardon, agreed to a confidential settlement over sexual abuse claims.

Officials from Stratton Faxon Law Firm, who represented the sexual abuse victims, said the settlement will benefit all of its clients involved in the sexual abuse lawsuit against the hospital.

"Our clients are very pleased with the confidential settlement and happy to put this painful chapter of their lives behind them," said attorney Joel T. Faxon. "We'd like to also thank the men and women who served on the jury in this important case," he added.

After the settlement was reached, officials at St. Francis released a statement that said:

"From the beginning of this tragedy related to the late Dr. Reardon, we have remained committed to resolving this issue as fairly as possible.

"With the trial of the first case, we believe that we have proven that Dr. Reardon was a master manipulator who deceived his patients, their parents, and his colleagues at the Hospital. We are prepared to prove that again in court, as necessary.

"As a result of very recent discussions with certain plaintiff attorneys, we are today announcing that we have reached a settlement with 32 plaintiffs in this case.

"To protect the confidential nature of this settlement, all parties have agreed not to provide further details.

"As difficult as this issue has been for everyone involved, our staff of dedicated caregivers continues to provide leading-edge care to the diverse community we serve. We believe the settlements announced today are another step in that direction."

Details of the sexual abuse were discovered in 2007 when the owner of Reardon's former home in West Hartford opened a basement wall during a renovation project and found tens of thousands of slides and videos showing children in sexual acts and positions.

Police identified 250 of Reardon's victims by name, but hundreds of other children in the pornographic images never came forward.

Investigators said they believed Reardon victimized at least 500 children, but they also believe the number of victims could be in the thousands. Police who interviewed the victims say many have struggled with broken relationships, substance-abuse problems, even suicide attempts.

Details of the settlement were not released.